iWork for Mac embraces iCloud Drive folder sharing [Updated]

iWork for Mac has a new collaboration tool. And there’s an array of other improvements, too. Photo: Apple

All the apps in Apple’s free iWork productivity suite for Mac now support iCloud Drive folder sharing, a collaboration feature that debuted last Tuesday in macOS 10.15.4.

This new feature is a highlight of each iWork application — Pages, Numbers and Keynote — reaching version 10.0. And there are numerous other enhancements, too.

iWork for Mac offers iCloud Drive folder sharing

With the launch of macOS 10.15.4 last week, it became possible to share an iCloud Drive folder with another person or group. This isn’t simply emailing the contents of a folder, but actually sharing the files. Two or more people can work on the same files directly in an iCloud Drive folder.

While this feature has been available for individual files for some time, macOS 10.15.4 expanded it to everything in shared folders. With iWork version 10, all that’s necessary to collaborate on a document, spreadsheet or presentation is place the necessary file in a shared folder.

Plus, a user can edit a shared file while offline and the changes will upload when they’re back online.

What’s new in Apple Pages for Mac 10.0

The latest version of Pages, Apple’s word processor, lets users add a large, decorative first character to paragraphs. And it supports colors, gradients or images as the background of documents. And Apple says it added “a variety of gorgeous new templates to help you get started.”

What’s new in Apple Numbers for Mac 10.0

Apple says Numbers 10.0, the latest version of the spreadsheet app in the iWork suite, supports “more rows and columns than ever before” but doesn’t specify how many. And it’s now possible to add a color to the background of a spreadsheet. Plus, a variety of new, editable shapes can be overlaid on spreadsheets.

What’s new in Apple Keynote for Mac 10.0

Apple also added more sample themes to Keynote 10.0, the latest version of the iWork presentation app. There are also new, editable shapes available. And a drop cap can be added to text, giving paragraphs a large first letter.